Outdoor Shower Stalls

A guide to building an outdoor shower

When designing outdoor shower stalls, like any bathroom shower designs,
there are many things to consider. The materials that are available
(and sizes of those materials) can make a big difference when determining
the overall plan.

The Outdoor Shower Stall - Design

I designed my outdoor shower around the factory width of GALVALUME
MULTI-COR corrugated metal sheets (35 1/2 inches). You can order them
from
Metal Mart any length that you want.
I ordered 9 sheets 6 feet long so that I didn't have to deal with cutting
them. I used six of the MULTI-COR sheets for the wall panels and the
other three for the roof.

All wooden parts were built from western red cedar. I used 4x4
posts 8 feet long for the structure and primary roof rafters. I
ripped 2x4's in half to make 2x2s to build the frames for the wall
panels and door. The ripped 2x4's were roughly 1 3/4" x 1 3/4".

I used GALVALUME J-CHANNEL to trim out the tops and sides of the
MULTI-COR sheets. I used 3 inch galvanized wood screws to fasten
all of the wooden materials together and self-piercing galvanized screws
to attach the MULTI-COR panels and J-CHANNEL to the wooden frames.

As I constructed the different parts of the wooden shower frame, I
stained/sealed all of the wood surfaces with SUPERDECK Transparent
Stain - 1902 - Red Cedar.

Building the Outdoor Shower Enclosure

The first step to building the outdoor shower enclosure was to construct
the forms for the concrete slab. I purchased 2x6 pine for this small
rectangular concrete form and nailed the pieces together with 12d framing
nails.

I leveled the top of the form to use as a gauge for leveling the
concrete and secured it in place with wooden stakes. I drove 1/2"
Rebar into the ground along the outsides of the form to prevent bowing
after the concrete pour.

I used 6"x6" welded wire mesh in the slab to reinforce the concrete
and prevent cracking. I filled the gap between the bottom of the
forms and the ground with fill dirt to prevent the wet concrete from
spilling out.

Outdoor Shower Stall - Concrete Form

Once the concrete was poured (and before it had a chance to harden), I
added galvanized post anchors for securing the wooden posts to the slab.
The center post anchors are offset 4" so that once front and back posts have
been secured, they will be 36 1/2" apart (see diagrams).

I added an extra 1 1/2" to the short dimension of the post anchors to
increase the depth of the outdoor shower (slightly) making them 38"
apart. So that the wall panels were all the same size (36 1/2" x
72"), I added 3/4" x 4" planks of cedar to the insides of the 4 end
posts (see diagrams).

Note: There are several types of galvanized post anchors.
I used galvanized angle braces as post anchors because I already had
them and didn't want to spend the extra money on standard post anchors.

Foundation Plan

Before and after the post anchors were added, I troweled the wet concrete
so that it would harden to a smooth finish. The picture below shows
the wet concrete with forms attached and anchors installed.

Wet Concrete Slab with Post Anchors
Installed

Once the concrete hardened, I removed the forms and laid 8-inch outdoor
tile to provide a non-slick surface for the shower floor. The next
day, I grouted the tile with a dark gray grout to match the shower floor
tile.

Finished Concrete Slab with Outdoor
Tile Installed

I added plastic "feet" to the bottom of each post, before I secured them
to the post anchors, so that the wood would not rest directly on the slab.
This will allow the post bottoms to dry between showers and prevent rotting.

Once I secured the uncut 4x4 posts to the post anchors, I plumbed each
post and used the 3/4" x 4" cedar planks (later to be used as spacers) and
temporary 2x4s to secure them in place.

Posts Plumbed and Braced (left); Posts
with Rafters Installed (right)

I constructed the rest of the roof structure using the roof plan (below).
I determined the width of the roof by laying the three MULTI-COR roof panels
on a flat surface. I overlapped them as how they would be used on the
roof and measured the width.

The width could vary, depending on how much overlap you prefer.

Outdoor Shower Stall - Roof Plan

Once the roof framing was completed, I secured the MULTI-COR roof panels
to the wooden roof frame with 1 1/2" self-piercing galvanized screws.
With the roof in place, I was able to remove some of the post bracing to
make room for the wall panel installation.

Outdoor Shower Stall with Roof
Installed

The floor plan below, shows the wooden posts and wall panels
installed. I custom-built each one of my wall panels, rather than
pre-building them, since the actual distances between posts can vary
slightly.

Outdoor Shower Stall - Floor Plan

Note: Before adding the wall panels, I installed 2x2 galvanized angle
trim along the inside corners of the 4x4 posts to protect them from water
(see images below).

To construct each of the wall panels, I measured the distance between two
posts and custom-built the 2x2 cedar wooden frame to match. I screwed
the wooden wall panel frame to the 4x4 posts, holding them up 3 inches from
the top of the shower floor, and flush with the outside of the 4x4 posts.

I cut a piece of J-CHANNEL the width of the top of the frame and
secured it on the inside of the top 2x2 with 1 1/2" self-piercing
screws. I added J-CHANNEL trim to both sides of the frame as well,
butt-jointing them to the upper piece of J-CHANNEL.

Next, I installed the MULTI-COR sheet by bowing it slightly so that
it would fit between the two side pieces of J-CHANNEL, and then pushing
it up into the top piece of J-CHANNEL. I held it in place with a
2x4 shim (on the bottom) while I secured it with 1 1/2" self-piercing
screws.

Wall Panel Elevations

Once the wall panels were installed, I removed the remaining braces and
completed staining the western red cedar wood surfaces with the red cedar
stain/sealer.

Front and Side Elevations

The above elevations show the roof pitch dropping 4 inches in height from
the outside of the front wall to the outside of the back wall. The
result is a pitch slightly more than 1-12.

View from Inside the Outdoor Shower
Stall

The view above, shows the 2x2 galvanized corner angle with the two
adjacent wall panels. The result is an outdoor shower with no exposed
wood in the shower area.

View of the Roof Framing from Outside
the Outdoor Shower

The door, not shown in these pictures, is the same construction as the
other wall panels, but with hinges on one side and a latch on the other.

The design of this outdoor shower stall was to have the shower stall
on the left, and a dressing area on the right. I plan to add hooks
for towels and clothes and a small triangular bench to fit in the right
back corner.

North Corner of the Outdoor Shower
Stall (left); Inside View of the Tile Floor (right)

Triangle Bench and Towel Hooks

I plan to add plumbing from a rain water catchment system that I have not
installed yet. In the mean time, I plan to use a 'Solar Shower' that
you can buy from most camping supply stores.